As the famous quote from Benjamin Franklin says: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”.
When working towards any goal, including growing a business, most discover that ‘winging it’ will only get you so far. You need a clear idea of where you’re going and how you’re going to get there.
The same is true for your communications strategy. Getting your messages to your audience is crucial to grow your pool of potential customers, but research shows 60% of companies don’t have a long-term communications plan.
A communications plan is your company’s roadmap. It ensures consistent, purposeful messages are reaching your audience exactly when and where you want them to, helping you stand out against competitors.
Why make a communications plan?
If you don’t plan your communications, you’re left with an ad hoc approach to all of your activity: blogs, social media and email marketing, to name a few.
You may get a win here and there, but it isn’t sustainable when trying to build a relationship with your audience. You may not be projecting the messages that you most want to get across, and you have no way of knowing what’s working and what’s not.
A strategy helps to structure your communications, making sure it reflects your brand accurately: your vision, mission and values. It also gives purpose to each piece of content – ensuring every activity is focused on getting you to achieve your goals.
In the making of a communications plan, you start to define yourself and your audience, so you know exactly what you want to express when you put a message out there.
Designing your strategy
There are certain questions that should be answered within a communications strategy:
- Why are you posting? If you don’t know this already, it’s time to brush up your DNA. Your why is your purpose – it underlies all of your communication, along with what makes you stand out and your code of conduct
- What do you want to achieve? Setting measurable objectives ensures you have something to work towards and measure your success against. Make sure you review your progress regularly and adjust your plan if you’re not reaching objectives
- Who are you trying to reach? Get to know your ideal customer by building a client persona. What are their motivations and their problems/pain points – how will your product or service benefit them?
- Where should you post? Choosing the right platform for your communications is really dependent on your audience. Think about what social medias they might use, and where they might search for your profile
- When should you post? Planning your communications in advance ensures your customers have a consistent stream of communication. For social media, 1-2 posts a week is a good start to get you noticed
- What if something goes wrong? It’s important to future proof your communications plan. Consider planning and setting guidelines for unexpected communications, for example a response to a negative social media comment or a reputation crisis.
You can plan your marketing strategy 3-6 months in advance. Give your plan time to work, but don’t be afraid to make changes to help you meet your goals.
Communications plans are a key part of any marketing strategy. They focus your content so that it effectively shows off your brand and stands out to potential customers.
Not sure if your communication is projecting the messages you want it to? Book your free communications review for an independent perspective on your marketing or get in touch below.
